Waters On Wine

It’s not often you approach the bar at
a social gathering where the wine is
being served out of numbered black
bags. But that was the case at St.
Thomas Uncorked, the annual wine
tasting organized by the local chamber
of commerce.

When the focus turns toward best buys,
the spotlight always seems to find the
wines of Chile. The South American
country sandwiched between the Pacific
Ocean and the Andes mountains has an
international reputation for
delivering impressive wines at
affordable prices.

One of the most enjoyable tastings of
last year was a showcase of Mission
Hill Oculus at the Vancouver
International Wine Festival. It was a
coming-of-age story that showed how
chief winemaker Darryl Brooker is
building on the experience amassed
since Mission Hill opened in 1981.

One of the Italian red wines
recommended this week comes with a
surprise. When you open the Cusumano
Nero d’Avola you don’t have to extract
a cork or twist off a screwcap, you
just click off a stylish glass top.

It’s coming on Christmas, but a week
spent touring Argentina hasn’t really
played into the holiday spirit. It’s
hard to embrace mistletoe and holly
when everyone’s gathering for a
barbecue in shorts and t-shirts.